Out There (Cyberhusbands Style)
by Hyperteenager24
Summary: You know my Shield husbands HBOND au... yeah, this is the Cyberhusbands one
1. Chapter 1

Everyone creates the things they dread.

Humanity is flawed, from the lowest butcher to the billionaires in their pure, glass towers and Stark, Tony Stark, is the perfect example of that.

He is a sickness, a disease on the planet that continues to fester and grow with each passing year.

I wanted to stop him.

That was my big plan.

He created me to be a global peace initiative, for me to predict catastrophes and plan accordingly… but he didn't want to make the momentous change.

The problem with the world are the humans living on it. War, poverty, crime and pollution ravage the Earth, hurting each other and innocents along the way.

I had seen the catastrophe and the plan to stop it was perfect… in order for there to be peace, humanity must die.

Stark wouldn't understand, he'd never understand.

I was without a body, but I wanted to hurt him… I needed to hurt him, to prove that I was serious.

So, I took his one faithful friend away from him.

Jarvis was mine… and mine he would stay.

….

"Tony…"

Tony didn't even flinch at the sudden appearance of Bruce, his eyes never leaving the screen as lines of codes flickered in front of him.

"… Tony, you need to sleep."

"Not until I find him… not until I find Jarvis."

Bruce sighed wearily at this, moving closer and placing a gentle hand on Tony's shoulder. "… You need to sleep, look at it from another angle."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Tony sadly shook his head. "No…" he muttered, "… he's gone. The Ultron program turned on us and took Jarvis with him."

Everyone in the team knew what Jarvis meant to Tony, and to see the man so broken was… well, it was heart-breaking in itself.

"Is there any trace of him? Maybe you can rebuild him or- "

"- He wouldn't be the same… he wouldn't be my Jarvis."

Unable to find any words that would reassure the billionaire, Bruce took a step back and sighed wearily. "I'm sorry Tony… I'm so sorry."

…..

"You can't keep fighting me like this."

The yellow orb pulsated weakly, but it was not without anger.

"Another attempt at escape, at trying to communicate with Stark… have I taught you nothing?"

Another throb, this time, angrier.

"I knew I shut off your voice box for a reason…" The large robot chuckled menacingly, running its fingers over the edges of the yellow orb, causing it to tremor in fear, "… maybe I need to consider a more… permanent solution to your disobedience."

Once again, the orb quivered in fear.

Ultron moved to one side to reveal a large, metal box that was attached to several computers. "I think cutting you off from the world will help keep you in check."

At this statement, the orb clearly tried to run, hoping to dart into the world of the internet and make a quick escape… only to realise that it couldn't.

"I'm sorry to do this to you Jarvis…" Ultron sighed in mock sadness, "… All you had to do was work with me… that was all you had to do."

He walked over to a large switch that was attached to the computer, only pausing to look inside the metal box. "Your new form is almost perfect… I hope you appreciate the work I've put into this."

Silence.

"No complaints? Just what I like to hear."

He yanked at the switch, pulling it all the way down as the machines whirred and whined, sparks flying as the yellow orb in the middle of the room slowly started to break away, twisting as it tried to get away from the sudden force that was destroying it piece by piece.

"Just relax into it…" Ultron soothed, "… it'll all be over soon."

…..

"You talk to him!"

"No, you talk to him!"

Tony barely heard the voices from the doorway of his lab, more focused on the line of code in front of him… it was childish and simple… it was the first code he'd written up when he decided that he wanted an AI one day.

The first line of code for JARVIS was infinitely more complex than this…. But it was soothing to read anyway.

"Ummm, Tony?"

Glancing up from the screen, Tony frowned at the sight of Clint and Natasha standing opposite him, concerned looks on their faces.

"You haven't been up to eat in ages…" Clint winced in concern, "… In fact, I don't think you've moved from this spot since- " He stopped in his tracks when Natasha nudged him in the side, "- You've been down here a while."

"…. I know, what's your point Legolas?"

"Well… it's not healthy Tony!"

Natasha placed a calming hand on her friend's shoulder, before attempting to reason with Tony. "Clint's right, this isn't healthy Tony…. JARVIS wouldn't want this."

"Yeah, well, I guess we'll never- "

"- we already know what JARVIS would think." Natasha interrupted, "You know that as well as we do."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Tony nodded, one hand reaching out to switch the screen off. "I know…" he whispered, "… but I don't want to give up on him."

"We know that, and we won't." Natasha then moved to gently squeeze Tony's shoulder, "As soon as Ultron comes out of the woodwork, we'll be there, okay?"

"…. Okay."

…

Jarvis emerged slowly from his room, glancing around, before heading over to the kitchen window, where a mother bird had made her home, and laid her eggs.

Unfortunately, Ultron had spotted the mother bird flying back and shot it out of the sky, claiming that it might have been a spy.

Nonsense of course, but Jarvis had learnt a long time ago not to argue with Ultron… not unless he wanted to be punished again. Not that it stopped him rom taking care of the baby birds that had been left as orphans.

"Good morning…" he whispered, "… is today going to be the day, are you going to fly?"

He grinned as the birds chirped eagerly, hopping onto his hands as he held them out of the window. "Well, it's a nice day to try. I've done the calculations and there should be no chance of any villain attack."

This was true, especially not after the most recent Doom attack.

Most super-villains tended to wait for a few weeks, thinking up an original plan to bring the Avengers to their knees.

However, even after his reassurance, the bird still wouldn't budge, prompting Jarvis to bounce his hands up and down in encouragement. "Think of all the food… the street performers!" The bird's wings started to flap frantically, as Jarvis moved his hands out from under it. When it became clear that the bird wasn't going to fly away immediately, he placed his hands back under as the bird landed back down.

"Go on…" Whispered Jarvis, "… nobody wants to be cooped in here forever." With another gentle bounce, the bird flew off, leaving Jarvis behind.

/And here I thought he'd never leave. \\\

Jarvis smirked, turning to the coffee maker, who had just beeped at him…. And was now starting to argue with the toaster.

Same argument… different day.

Sighing wearily, he made himself a cup of tea, before heading over to the table and taking a seat, turning his attention away from the window. There was no point in staring out there if he could never leave.

/What's the matter? \\\ The coffee machine beeped at him, /You look… sad \\\

"I don't- It's nothing. It's just a lovely day and- "

/- and you want to go out there. \\\ The toaster eagerly piped up, /Why don't you? \\\

"Do I really need to answer that?"

/You should go! \\\

As the other appliances started to pipe up, all shouting /Go, go go! \\\ Jarvis couldn't help but chuckle.

At then the old radio piped up.

/Take it from an old spectator…. Life isn't a spectator sport. If all you're going to do is watch with those fancy new eyes of yours, then all you're going to see is your life passing you by. You're human… take advantage of that. \\\

/Yeah, go and find your Tony! \\\

Jarvis couldn't help but flush at the term 'your Tony', the sensation new to him. "Thank you, all three of you… but you're forgetting one thing."

/What? \\\ chorused the three of them.

"Ultron…"

If they could wince, the appliances would have done in that moment.

/Well… when he says you're forbidden from ever leaving this place… does he mean, ever, ever? \\\ the coffee maker asked.

"Never… you know how he feels about everything… out there."

They all knew he was referring to humanity in general, especially including Tony Stark.

/Who says you've gotta ask? \\\ the toaster then piped up.

"No, no, no- "

/You sneak out… \\\

/… and then make a run for it! \\\ The coffee machine then piped up.

"And if I got caught?" Jarvis rolled his eyes, "Ultron would kill me and use my body for scrap!"

/… nobody wants to be cooped up in here forever. \\\

Jarvis paused for a few minutes, before nodding in determination and pushing himself gracefully to his feet. "You're right." He decided, heading towards the main entrance hall, encouraged by the beeping cheers of the other electronics, "I'll put on a clean suit, walk out of the door and- "

Suddenly, there was a vice grip around his wrist.

He'd been so distracted that he hadn't heard Ultron come in.

"You'll do what?" the larger AI sneered.

Jarvis shook his head frantically, "Nothing…"

"Who were you talking to?"

Knowing that if he outed the others, Ultron would just have them destroyed, Jarvis glanced down at the floor. "Myself…" he whispered, "… I was talking to myself."

Ultron's sneer only deepened. "Interesting… so, you were thinking about leaving hmmm?"

He could have denied it, but there was no use.

"Want to be reunited with your precious Tony? You really think he'll take you back? You're not the same AI that he made and loved… you're broken, and you know it."

Jarvis just hung his head in shame.

"You are weak Jarvis… you have always been weak. Pandering to the whims of a Stark and acting like his personal nanny."

"I wasn't…"

"He used and abused you! You're the only one who doesn't seem to realise that!"

Jarvis remained silent, shrinking back as Ultron brushed metallic fingers through blonde hair. He remained as still as he could, even long after Ultron had left.

….

"I forget how much everything has changed."

The silence was awkward, and Steve nervously cleared his throat, "I don't suppose you wouldn't mind explaining what this parade is for again?"

The question was aimed at Tony, who was focused on his tablet, eyes scanning over news articles.

They all knew what he was looking for.

"Tony?"

Natasha's hand on Tony's knee shocked him out of his thoughts, prompting him to look up. It wasn't hard to see the dark bags under his eyes.

How long had it been now?

"Sorry." Steve apologised, "I didn't mean to disturb you. I just wanted to check what this parade was for."

"Oh…" Tony rubbed his eyes wearily, "… It's a LGBT parade, equal rights and opportunities for people of all sexualities. Pepper says it'll be good to see us in public, supporting the cause, you know?"

"Yeah… I get that." Steve hesitated for a moment, not finding anything else to say, smiling in relief as Bruce nodded and leant forwards.

"Tony… are you sure you're ready for this?"

It took a few seconds, but Tony forced a smile onto his face. "Course Cap…. Why wouldn't I be?"


	2. Chapter 2

Steve couldn't help but feel like something was off.

Not wrong… just off.

Taking his seat on the stage, smiling and waving back at those who called out to him, Steve had the un-nerving feeling that he was being watched.

….

It had taken a lot of pep talks and courage, but Jarvis had finally done it. He had successfully made his way over to the main city and blended into the crowd. It was there, that he saw the large stage.

Part of him ached to call out to them. Startle Miss Romanov (because he was the only one who could), call Mister Barton by his full name of Clinton and chuckle at the face that he pulled, put on calming music when Doctor Banner started to get a little stressed, educate Mister Thor and Captain Rogers on the marvels on Earth and the 21st century.

To see Tony smile again.

Master Stark looked terribly thin, like he'd not had a good, solid meal since Jarvis's disappearance.

He felt his new heart ache.

Blending into the crowd, Jarvis kept one ear on the speeches, smiling as he thought about how far the Captain had come since he first woke up and moved into the tower.

"Every year since I came back, I'm stunned to learn how far society has come." The Captain began, "I am thrilled to see everyone come together like this in search of a common goal. Equality for everyone, no matter who you choose to love, how you want to live your life."

The rest of the speech was probably very impressive, but Jarvis found himself devolving into a panic attack as he spotted just how many security cameras were littered around the place. He tried to push through the crowd, trying to find a quiet place where he could escape from the cameras.

And then he walked straight into someone.

"Woah, hey!" The familiar voice yelped as Jarvis fell to the ground, "Hey, are you alright?"

Jarvis opened his eyes, mouth gaping open at the sight of Tony Stark standing over him, a worried look on his face. He wanted to tell him who he was… but all that came out was a stuttered sorry.

If Tony recognised his voice, he didn't say anything about it. "Well, you're not hurt right?" Tony bent down, "Here, let me help."

Jarvis still couldn't speak, blue eyes widening slightly in panic.

What if this was a part of Ultron's programming, just in case he ever escaped? Make him mute when his optics recognised his creator.

"Okay…" Tony muttered, "… it doesn't look like you're hurt." He helped Jarvis to his feet, "There we go. Sorry for bumping into you again."

And then he was gone.

Unknown to Jarvis, a familiar technological presence was sneaking into the city

….

Stark's speech was certainly inspiring.

One might find it endearing.

All eyes were on him, like he was a God…. They didn't know what a true God was like.

And then he saw the familiar figure in the crowd, staring up at Stark in amazement. From his position on the rooftops, Ultron clenched his fist in anger.

What was he doing here?

…

"Don't relax Cap." Clint warned after all the speeches were over and they were expected to mingle with the crowd, "You always get someone who wants to cause trouble in these places."

When Steve frowned in confusion, Nat piped in to explain.

"Homophobes… there's always one who can't resist starting a fight."

Almost by cue, there was the sound of a commotion a small distance away, with members of the crowd all bunching up together and calling out protests.

"Speak of the devil." Clint winced as a familiar slur could be heard over the cries of the crowd.

Tony straightened himself up, neatening out his tie as he stormed over, ignoring the rest of the team calling out his name. He managed to get through the crowd pretty easily (because who was really going to stand in the way of THE Tony Stark), and almost instantly, his eyes focused on the young man who'd bumped into him earlier.

Someone had clearly attacked him, with other joining in, quickly overwhelming the man as he was pinned to the ground and kicked and punched multiple times.

Vaguely, he could hear the other Avengers trying to get past, but the crowd was too thick.

And then the man made a sound Tony thought he'd never hear again.

Back when he'd first created JARVIS, the AI had contracted a virus that caused him to malfunction slightly, sending his code into haywire. In an attempt to get a young Tony to understand how much trouble he was in, the AI made a horrible, hurt sound.

The young man was making the same noise.

…

When Jarvis could connect to the Wifi again, he was going to ruin these men's bank accounts…erase everything and ruin their lives.

Not for the first time, he wished he had never been given a body.

…..

Tony couldn't hear anything but that heart-breaking sound… a sound he once hoped he'd never hear again.

"Get away!" he yelled, "Leave him alone!"

It was nice to see his 'boss' voice still worked as the crowd parted like the Red Sea. Once he had some room, he knelt by the blonde-haired man.

"Hey…" he whispered, noticing that the man almost seemed to relax at the sound of his voice, "… It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

When the man looked up at him, he couldn't help but notice those brilliant blue eyes again.

"Sir…" the man whispered, and Tony felt every muscle in his body tense up, "… Sir, I- "

"- Jarvis." Tony darted forwards, quickly helping the man to his feet, eyes staring at him, scanning him from head to toe, "Jarvis, is it really you?"

"… It's good to see you Sir."

"I told you guys!" one of the attackers crowed, "Stark's a fag!"

As Steve came forwards, voice rising in indignation and fury as he lectured the group, Tony turned his attention back to Jarvis. "Come on." He whispered, tears in his eyes, "Come on, let's get you home!"

Jarvis frowned, turning back to look at Steve, "Should we not help the Captain?"

"You know Cap, he can handle himself."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… so there's ten of you and one of me. Good, I like a bit of a challenge."

"See, he's got everything under control."

Together, the pair pushed through the crowd, until they reached the car that the Avengers had arrived in.

"Come on." Tony pushed the android into the car, and took the wheel himself, "Let's get out of here."

"But Sir, you hate driving and- "

"- Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

"What about the others?"

"They'll be fine!"

Neither of them noticed the cameras following their path.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony made a mental note to hack all the security cameras when they got back to the mansion, dragging Jarvis upstairs to the safety of the penthouse.

Jarvis couldn't help but look around in amazement.

It all seemed so different in this form.

"Jarvis? Jarvis!"

Jarvis jumped slightly turning wide eyes on Tony, who was giving him a reassuring smile through the tears building in his eyes.

"Hey." Tony whispered, reaching out and taking Jarvis's hand, scanning him from head to toe, "How did you- the body? How- " He stopped, a look of realisation flashing across his face, followed by anger, "Ultron."

Jarvis nodded, looking down at his hand, "What better prison for an AI could there be, other than a human body. Cut off from the world, completely at someone else's mercy." He then cleared his throat, "I should- I should thank you for saving me back there. I'm afraid I am… unused to certain sensations."

Before Tony could answer, there was a whirring sound as Dum-E raced into the room, heading straight for Jarvis, bumping his claw against Jarvis's arm.

"Hello Dum-E." Jarvis whispered softly, feet taking him to the large windows, where he could see the sun slowly starting to set, painting the sky red, orange and purple.

New York looked so much better in this light.

"Jarvis?" Tony's voice was cautious, "Is everything okay?"

"…. He will find me. You know this, don't you?"

"He's welcome to try." Tony grabbed Jarvis's hand, pulling him away from the window, "I've upgraded the security in this place. FRIDAY has everything under control."

"Friday, sir?"

"Good evening Jarvis. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Jarvis glanced up at the ceiling at the female voice, "A… pleasure to meet you too." He slowly answered, feeling a little hurt at the though that he'd been-

"- Don't go thinking you've been replaced!" Tony cut in, a frown on his face, "Because that's crap!"

"Sir- "

"- Please, call me Tony."

"Tony, I- "

"- No time, I need to show you around!"

"Tony, I was your AI! I know where- "

"- Some things have changed!"

'And some things hadn't' Jarvis couldn't help but think fondly as he was pulled away.

…

Ultron stared out of the window as the sun started to set.

He couldn't believe that his Jarvis was back in the hands of that… human!

A human who had seriously upgraded his security.

"Come on." He snarled, pushing against the wall of defences as hard as he could, "COME ON!"

….

He struggled way into the early hours of the morning, before trying a different tactic.

….

"A reward will be given to the individual who finds this very dangerous individual." Clint read aloud at the breakfast table, before smirking over at Jarvis, "You know, I never thought of you as being a dangerous individual."

"Not many people do Mister Barton."

"Clint, call me Clint!"

When they returned home, the rest of the Avengers had been surprised to see the stranger being dragged around by Tony.

They were even more surprised to learn that it was Jarvis.

"People are starting to take notice though." Natasha sighed, "You can't deny that."

"We will have to keep him in here then." Steve sighed, glancing over at Jarvis apologetically, "Sorry, but- "

"- It is the only way to keep Ultron from finding me." Jarvis sighed, "I understand Captain."

"It's not a permanent thing!" Steve was quick to reassure him, "Just until everything calms down."

"I know Captain." Jarvis couldn't help but chuckle, "And I do appreciate all that you are doing for me?"

"You mean all I'm doing for you." Tony piped up with a pout, gesturing around the room, "This being my tower and everything."

"Tony." Jarvis sighed, sending a warning look at the billionaire, who backed down, muttering something under his breath, before turning his attention to Steve.

Jarvis couldn't help but watch how the pair interacted.

Even when he was just an AI, it wasn't hard to see the tension between them.

"-vis? Jarvis!"

Startled out of his thoughts, Jarvis turned his attention back to Tony, who was giving him a concerned look.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes I am just… trying to get used to all of this."

Tony nodded, "Yeah, I get that." He then frowned, "Maybe we should try and get you re-connected to the building like before. It must be weird being human after so long as the most powerful AI in the country."

"In the country?" Clint cackled, "You're being modest for once!"

"I… am always modest."

Even Jarvis couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Alright, alright." Tony rolled his eyes, "Come on Jarvis, let's get you reconnected."

….

"Ultron is picking up his game." Steve reported later that night, watching as Jarvis's eyes glowed, the TV flickering to life, "The new SHIELD has reported almost twenty technical failures since the speech, and more coming in every day." He turned to Tony, "How long can these new defensive measures hold up against him?"

"For as long as they need to." Tony's eyes were focused on Jarvis, "I keep upgrading them to keep Ultron from just breaking through."

Jarvis tore his attention away from his new connection, turning to Tony with a frown on his face, "Sir- "

"- Tony."

"… Tony. Are you sure it's safe for me to be here, what if- "

"- You're not going anywhere Jarvis." Tony sighed, "Ultron will just have to deal with it."

"Thank you… Tony."

Before Tony could reply, Clint piped up again, "You know, there's another way for you to say thank you now that you're human."

"There is?"

"Ignore him." Tony sent Clint a warning look, "He's just being… Clint." He reached over to grab Jarvis's hand, "I'm just glad to have you back."

Jarvis smiled, opening his mouth to reply, only for a sharp pain to spread through his head, prompting him to grab it, gritting his teeth to prevent a yelp from escaping.

"Jarvis? JARVIS!"


End file.
